Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for safely stopping the operation of an escalator and, more particularly, to a method for safely stopping the operation of an escalator, wherein an abnormal speed of an escalator is detected and the operation of the escalator is safely stopped in order to prevent a fall of a passenger.
Discussion of the Related Art
As noted, there have been suggested conventional technologies for stopping an escalator when abnormality is generated in the escalator. A representative example includes Korean Patent No. 10-0995059 entitled “Safety Brake Control Apparatus for Emergency Stop of Escalator” (hereinafter referred to as a “cited invention”).
As shown in FIG. 1, cited invention may include the steps of checking whether an escalator ascends or descends, detecting whether counter rotation is generated using a counter rotation detection sensor if the escalator ascends and detecting a descending speed using an overspeed detection sensor if the escalator descends; blocking the supply of power to a driving motor and driving a main brake by sending a block signal to the safety circuit of a main control panel if a descending speed of the escalator detected by the overspeed detection sensor exceeds 120% of a rating speed; and driving an emergency stop safety brake by driving a relay panel if counter rotation is detected by the counter rotation detection sensor or a descending speed of the escalator detected by the overspeed detection sensor exceeds 140% of the rating speed.
Such a cited invention can prevent a safety accident attributable to a malfunction of the escalator by stopping the escalator by the emergency stop safety brake having a braking power according to the friction contact of a disk brake when counter rotation is detected by the counter rotation detection sensor or the overspeed operation of the escalator is detected by the overspeed detection sensor. However, such a stop method corresponds to a friction stop and thus has a problem in that the braking power is reduced because the disk brake of the emergency stop safety brake is worn out as it is used. The emergency stop safety brake has a reduced braking power as described above or is useless if it left as it has a problem in operation because the emergency stop safety brake is not always used, but is used when abnormality is generated. Furthermore, in the cited invention, braking is performed after counter rotation is detected by the counter rotation detection sensor. The cited invention has a problem in that a fall of a passenger is increased because braking is performed when the driving chain is broken and stopped while the escalator ascends and is accelerated in the descending direction by counter rotation.